- CHEMICALS
San Donato Milanese (Milan), Lograto (Brescia) – 11 July 2024 – Following the collaboration between Versalis, Eni's chemical company, and Forever Plast, Italy's leading company in post-consumer plastic recycling, comes REFENCE™, an innovative range of recycled polymers for food contact packaging. The range is already available in the market for polystyrene applications such as yogurt pots, trays for meat and fish, and other types of rigid and expanded packaging.
These new products will expand the Versalis Revive® portfolio of mechanically recycled materials, redefining their application limits and enabling direct contact with food.
REFENCE™ has been produced due to NEWER™ technology, which is developed in Versalis' research laboratories in Mantua and industrialised at Forever Plast's facilities in Lograto (Brescia) under a co-development agreement between Versalis and Forever Plast. NEWER™ enables the purification of recycled polymers in compliance with EU Regulation 1616/2022 on recycling. The technology has also obtained the Non-Objection Letter (NOL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis said: "Circularity is a fundamental strategic lever. For this reason, we are committed to developing complementary recycling processes to enhance the value of end-of-life plastics and integrate ourselves into the Italian national collection chain. We are completing works on our first advanced mechanical recycling hub at Porto Marghera for post-consumer plastics, in particular styrenic polymers. Our collaboration with Forever Plast aims to reach application sectors, such as food packaging, where sustainability and quality requirements are essential, thus strengthening our European leadership in mechanical recycling.”
Piersandro Arrighini, CEO of Forever Plast , said: “We are very pleased with the result achieved, especially as there was no recycling chain for polystyrene from separate waste collection at a European level until a few years ago. The collaboration with Versalis has allowed us to reach this extraordinary milestone."
Sign up to our newsletter and activate your e-mail alert to discover the insights from the world of Eni
I, the undersigned, state that I have read the eni.com Privacy Policy.
Eni S.p.A., as the Processing Owner, informs users that their personal data will be processed in accordance with the provisions envisaged in REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR") with the methods and for the purposes indicated in the Privacy Policy. I, the undersigned, state that I consent to the processing of my data for:
Eni.com is a digitally designed platform that offers an immediate overview of Eni's activities. It addresses everyone, recounting in a transparent and accessible way the values, commitment and perspectives of a global technology company for the energy transition.
Discover our mission